Girls Basketball: Capital Prep Coasts To Win

HARTFORD – It was Senior Night at Capital Prep and the flowers, accolades and emotions predictably exacted a toll on the No. 1-ranked girls basketball team in the state.

That lasted about a quarter.

Then the Trailblazers, ranked 20th nationally by USA Today, got down to business against Nazareth, of Brooklyn, N.Y. A two-point lead after the first quarter grew to a 14-point halftime lead and then Capital Prep coasted in the second half, beating Nazareth 90-39 Wednesday night.

"I tried not to get consumed by [Senior Night]," Gillespie said. "You want to perform well, your family's watching, it's your last home game of the season. I thought it was a pretty good night. We started off a little slow but at the end we got it together."

Shalix Hines led Nazareth (5-15) with 16 points. Coach Ron Kelley said he lost two key players to injuries and another transferred.

"We lost five kids to Division 1 basketball last year so all these kids are young," Kelley said. "It's a rebuilding year.

"But you know, that first half I really enjoyed. We did some good things. We got tired. We need some more bodies to play with a team like Capital Prep. I can't be too upset. We knew they were going to be good."

Capital Prep led 13-11 after one quarter and Gillespie and Elmore fueled an eight-point run midway through the second quarter, capped by an Angelique Rodriguez steal and layup that gave the Trailblazers a 24-16 lead. Rodriguez (who had 15 points) hit a three with 28 seconds left and then had another steal and a basket to give Capital Prep a 35-21 halftime lead.

"We changed up what we wanted to do defensively [in the second half]," Capital Prep coach Tammy Millsaps said. "We really got out on their shooters. We stopped penetration that was hurting us in the first half."

Gillespie opened the second half with a put-back and Elmore scored eight straight and Capital Prep was off and running.

"Coach talked about in the locker room that we didn't have a good first half, she knew it was senior jitters and all that," Elmore said. "She said we have to come out stronger. Nazareth, they're a decent team. If you keep a game close, it can go either way. So we had to come out in the second half, get the runs and get the lead out wider and that's what we did."